Iran voices support for Turkey's EU membership

ANKARA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the European Union (EU) should ask Turkey to become one of its members, Turkish media reported Friday.

In an interview with Turkey's state-run TRT TV channel and private news channel NTV, Ahmadinejad said Turkey, with its history, culture and civilization, would increase the EU's credibility if the predominantly Muslim country joins the 27-nation bloc.

Turkey should improve its relations with the East, but it wouldn't mean Turkey's cutting its ties with the West, Ahmadinejad was quoted of saying.

Turkey started accession talks with the EU in 2005 but has only opened negotiations in 11 policy areas out of 35 that are needed before its entry.

The EU has urged Ankara to normalize relations with the EU member Cyprus and speed up reforms, while EU members France and Germany favor a more informal partnership with Turkey instead of full membership.

Ahmadinejad is expected to visit Turkey for a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to be held in the Turkish city Istanbul on Monday.

Muslim countries should support each other and could create a big market with their large population and economic weight, the president said in the interview.